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It’s only fitting this year’s Niagara Falls Comic Con had a star from Growing Pains signing autographs. The more this show grows, the more pain it seems to cause people.

At least that was the reaction gathered from social media Saturday. Line-ups were too long. Autographs too expensive. Parking was a rip-off. Everything was disorganized. Gouging, confusion, etc. You would think no one had fun at all.

“Waste of money this year,” someone wrote on the Con’s Facebook page. “Niagara Falls Comic Con has turned into a rip off,” someone chimed in later. A woman added she “didn’t have a good experience, will not be returning to NFCC.”

This was the glowing praise I read before attending Sunday, along with several other complaints. Long line-ups to get in Saturday had people fuming, with some saying they simply turned around and went home. Bullet News was denied press credentials, prompting the reporter to write a scathing column

What’s going on, I wondered. Has our feel-good success story of a Comic Con turned to the dark side? Has it already gone sour?

I sauntered up Sunday and the line-up was long but flowing. People were smiling. Kids and their parents were in costume (little dude in the Han Solo outfit – you rocked). Whatever bad vibes Saturday created were gone. It was a typical Comic Con.

Which may be the problem for some people. Comic Cons are not a casual attraction - they require work and planning and patience. This isn’t a Clifton Hill wax museum, this is a massive pop culture smorgasbord you will spend a lot of time and money at. They don’t come around often. That’s what makes them special.

In just four years, the Niagara Falls Comic Con has become one of the biggest events in the city. The three square kilometres around the Scotiabank Convention Centre were buzzing all weekend. Crowds at every corner waiting to cross. Traffic much heavier than normal. Packed parking lots, busy restaurants, congested sidewalks. This is what a Comic Con brings to the city. San Diego’s annual Comic Con dominates the downtown for a solid week. Fan Expo in Toronto is likewise a huge attraction.

Niagara Falls Comic Con is not at that level, but it’s bigger than anyone expected after four years. This year’s show snagged William Shatner, who doesn’t do just any convention. And if organizer Chris Dabrowski gets who he wants for next year, expect even bigger line-ups. The show has amazingly outgrown the Scotiabank Convention Centre already – it can’t grow any bigger without finding another venue.

Here’s the other thing about the Comic Con: Organizers don’t set the price for autographs, the celebrities do. Organizers don’t set the price for parking, the convention centre does. Organizers weren’t responsible for the lines to get in Saturday morning, security was. These hiccups are part of every Comic Con. If you want chaos, try getting into a hall at the San Diego Con when there’s a major celebrity speaking. And as packed as Saturday was at the Falls, it was still nothing compared to the sardine-like misery of Fan Expo, when you could literally spend minutes not moving.

Surviving a Comic Con is part of the fun. The meal afterwards. The stuff you scored. The photos you took. Even the annoying stuff becomes another story to tell after.

On Sunday, I went to take a photo of Chandler Riggs, who plays Carl on The Walking Dead. He was here two years ago and couldn’t be more pleasant and accessible. This time? After two years of The Walking Dead becoming the biggest thing on TV, he suddenly had muscle guarding the table preventing anyone from taking photos, including the media.

“No pictures,” the dude barked. “He’s underage.”

I almost doubled over. The kid who stars on the show where zombies are impaled, beheaded and disemboweled every week can’t have his photo taken…because he’s a kid?